On the debut night of pro hockey in Greenville, the fledgling franchise then known as the Grrrowl drew what is still an ECHL opening night-record crowd of 14,108 to the Bi-Lo Center.

Twenty years later, the Greenville Swamp Rabbits are trying to top that number.

When the Swamp Rabbits begin their ninth season by hosting the Toledo Walleye at 7 p.m. Friday at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena, they hope a crowd nearing 15,000 is on hand.

"It certainly was a bold goal to go after this early because we're still buidling relationships in the community," said Steve Donner, who took over as president, CEO and owner of the team in January. "But we decided it was a great idea for a number of reasons. We've rebuilt our staff and have new coaches, and we wanted to instill a message that our aspirations are higher maybe than teams in the past.

"We're going after higher goals on the ice and at the box office. We may not achieve them all, but we want to set the tone for ourselves and the community."

The organization has kept busy for the past two months in its bid to fill The Well.

Since launching a video in mid-August to introduce its bid for the record, team media relations director Jordan Kuhns said the franchise has been focused on achieving the goal. In addition to pushing ticket sales daily, he said the Swamp Rabbits have placed billboards throughout the city pitching the promotion and have partnered with organizations like United Way and Upstate radio stations for discounted tickets and ticket giveaways. There also will be a pregame Fan Fest at The Well.

As of Thursday morning, the Swamp Rabbits had sold 8,200 tickets, Donner said, including approximately 1,000 per day this week. While the ECHL record may not be a possibility, Donner said he is confident the franchise will break its record of 8,700 set two seasons ago.

"We should blow past that," Donner said, "and we'll see how far we can get. We've learned this town does fire up the last two, three days for an event, so we're going to be busy. Tickets are selling briskly right now."